RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Onset of Mediterranean outflow into the North Atlantic JF Science JO Science FD American Association for the Advancement of Science SP 1244 OP 1250 DO 10.1126/science.1251306 VO 344 IS 6189 A1 Hernández-Molina, F. Javier A1 Stow, Dorrik A. V. A1 Alvarez-Zarikian, Carlos A. A1 Acton, Gary A1 Bahr, André A1 Balestra, Barbara A1 Ducassou, Emmanuelle A1 Flood, Roger A1 Flores, José-Abel A1 Furota, Satoshi A1 Grunert, Patrick A1 Hodell, David A1 Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco A1 Kim, Jin Kyoung A1 Krissek, Lawrence A1 Kuroda, Junichiro A1 Li, Baohua A1 Llave, Estefania A1 Lofi, Johanna A1 Lourens, Lucas A1 Miller, Madeline A1 Nanayama, Futoshi A1 Nishida, Naohisa A1 Richter, Carl A1 Roque, Cristina A1 Pereira, Hélder A1 Sanchez Goñi, Maria Fernanda A1 Sierro, Francisco J. A1 Singh, Arun Deo A1 Sloss, Craig A1 Takashimizu, Yasuhiro A1 Tzanova, Alexandrina A1 Voelker, Antje A1 Williams, Trevor A1 Xuan, Chuang YR 2014 UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/344/6189/1244.abstract AB The trickle of water that began to flow from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean after the opening of the Strait of Gibraltar turned into a veritable flood by the end of the Pliocene 2 to 3 million years ago. It then began to influence large-scale ocean circulation in earnest. Hernández-Molina et al. describe marine sediment cores collected by an ocean drilling expedition (see the Perspective by Filippelli). The results reveal a detailed history of the timing of Mediterranean outflow water activity and show how the addition of that warm saline water to the cooler less-salty waters of the Atlantic was related to climate changes, deep ocean circulation, and plate tectonics.Science, this issue p. 1244; see also p. 1228 Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositional hiatuses indicate erosion by bottom currents related to higher volumes of MOW circulating into the North Atlantic, beginning in the late Pliocene. The hiatuses coincide with regional tectonic events and changes in global thermohaline circulation (THC). This suggests that MOW influenced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), THC, and climatic shifts by contributing a component of warm, saline water to northern latitudes while in turn being influenced by plate tectonics.